Shafting prepares future engineers

As a third-year engineering major, I know all about the shaft. Every semester, it seems like people talk about the shaft more and more-Tech students love to complain about professors giving out bad grades, classes being too hard and social lives at Tech being far from fulfilling. A certain amount of this is bearable, but it seems to be getting worse and worse every year.

It's infectious. People always complain about how other people at other schools have it so easy, and how those students have it easy. It's gotten to be so bad that the average Joe is forgetting what he came here to be: a Ramblin' Wreck and a helluva engineer. Engineers aren't supposed to be whiners and quitters; they have to deal with the situations they are given and make things work. Tech engineers should be proud of Tech; they shouldn't belittle the school just because of the handful of times that they got shafted.

Unfortunately, I've been hooked too many times into that useless state of mind, filled with hatred for the shaft.

But it's important to take a step back and look at the situation more objectively after the initial shock and pain have faded: is it really that bad that you've been shafted? (I'm not talking about the shaft in regards to things like parking fines and unbearable construction, which are bad without a doubt-by shafted, I mean in terms of one's academic career.) Chances are that you probably learned a useful lesson from it, about yourself or about how hard you need to be working. For instance, maybe you'll learn that most professors are cutthroat; they won't give you an A if you get an 89.4. But that's how life is going to be after you graduate too-sometimes you're going to be on the edge, and you're going to fail. There's no point in complaining that you got shafted; the best thing to do is to try your best the next time. Complaining only spreads the negativity and probably will make you more depressed than will trying to put the situation in a more positive light.

And consider the absolute worst-case scenario of shafting: if you fail, you'll have to take the class again, in which case you'll not only learn that lesson, but you'll learn the material again. And a couple of bad spots on an otherwise good record won't weigh you down too much. If you're getting shafted consistently (i.e. failing all of your classes), that is likely to bring you down, than maybe you need to reevaluate your reasons for coming to Tech. You can't claim that you were shafted if you weren't putting enough effort into something. But all in all, people need to be less negative about shafting.

Judging from the experiences of most working engineers, most jobs require the ability to adapt to new situations and think on your feet, so it's a good thing that Tech doesn't spoon-feed you and change your diapers while you're in college. Compare Tech grads, for instance, to those of comparable high-ranking schools who boast about how the majority of their classes graduate with honors. Sure, a grad from one of these places might get recognition for graduating with straight As, but when it comes down to survival, it's not your GPA that is going to come in handy. It's the shafting that will serve you well: classes where you had no idea what was going on and you had to figure it out without the help of professors, hours spent poring over unfamiliar formulas and learning to accept that you might not be amazing at everything.

People here have a better grip on reality; good grades and success don't come easily, even if you are smart. One of the first things you learn here is to swallow your pride, forget about the fact that it's cool to study less and work really hard if you want to have any chance of doing well in a difficult class. And for doing that, for dealing with the shaft, there is a considerable reward. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and for Tech grads, that light is really bright.

A lot of people say that Tech grads have been through everything and are ready for anything that is thrown at them. Our experiences and our perseverance are things that we should be proud of; we shouldn't just complain about the shaft. More people need to be uplifting and spread cheerfulness and optimism instead.